Starship HLS (Human Landing System) for NASA’s upcoming Artemis lunar landings

Starship HLS (Human Landing System) serves as the final, critical leg of NASA’s Artemis program, acting as the dedicated elevator and transport vehicle that will shuttle astronauts between lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon. Unlike the Apollo days—where a single rocket carried the entire crew and lander all at once—the Artemis architecture splits the journey into distinct stages.

The Mission Flow: How it Works

1. Pre-positioning the Lander: Before astronauts even leave Earth, SpaceX will launch the uncrewed Starship HLS into Earth orbit. Because the massive vehicle requires an immense amount of fuel to travel to the Moon and land, SpaceX will launch a series of tanker flights to refill the HLS variant with cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) directly in low Earth orbit. Once topped off, Starship HLS will burn its engines and travel to a specialized Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, where it will wait for the crew.
2. Launching the Crew: NASA will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Orion will journey to the Moon and dock directly with the waiting Starship HLS (or eventually, the Lunar Gateway station).
3. The Lunar Descent & Landing: Two astronauts will transfer from Orion into the spacious cabin of Starship HLS. Starship will then undock and handle the entire descent to the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole.
4. Returning to Orbit: After spending roughly a week conducting science on the surface, the astronauts will launch back into lunar orbit inside Starship, rendezvous with Orion, and board the NASA capsule for the trip back home to Earth.

Key Design Changes for the HLS Variant

Because Starship HLS is designed exclusively for the airless lunar environment, it looks noticeably different from the standard Starships seen launching from Texas:

• No Heat Shield or Flaps: Because it will never re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, it doesn’t need aerodynamic body flaps or thermal protection tiles. This saves an enormous amount of weight, maximizing the amount of cargo it can bring to the Moon.
• Lunar Landing Thrusters: To prevent its powerful main Raptor engines from blasting giant craters into the lunar dirt or kicking up dangerous debris, Starship HLS features a secondary ring of high-mounted landing thrusters closer to the top of the vehicle to control the final touchdown.
• The External Elevator: Because the pressurized crew compartment sits near the top of the 50-meter-tall ship, astronauts will step into an external elevator basket to take a ride down the side of the hull onto the Moon’s surface.
• White Paint & Solar Panels: It is painted bright white for thermal management against harsh solar radiation and features a ring of solar panels wrapped around its nose cone to provide constant power while parked in space or on the surface.

Current Timeline & Milestones

Following updated mission profiles from NASA, the upcoming Artemis III mission (targeted for 2027) will serve as a vital Earth-orbit docking test. The SLS-launched Orion crew will meet and dock with Starship HLS in low Earth orbit to completely validate crew transfer and system integration before anyone heads to deep space. Concurrently, SpaceX is pushing toward critical in-space propellant transfer flight tests.